DP1

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP1

Should Engineer B file the FOIA request to obtain Engineer A's qualifications before submitting his own firm's qualifications to the state agency, or should he submit his own qualifications first and only then file the FOIA request?

Engineer B, a competitor of Engineer A in the same public RFQ, files a FOIA request to obtain Engineer A's already-submitted qualifications before Engineer B has submitted his own firm's qualifications. The core question is whether Engineer B should have sequenced his FOIA request after submitting his own qualifications, or whether filing before his own submission — while legally permissible — creates an appearance of impropriety that violates the spirit of fair procurement and the NSPE Code's honorable conduct standard.

Engineer B submits his firm's qualifications to the state agency before filing any FOIA request for Engineer A's submission, ensuring that the competitor intelligence obtained cannot have influenced the content of his own qualifications and thereby avoiding any appearance of impropriety in the procurement process.

Engineer B files the FOIA request before submitting his own qualifications, treating the legal availability of FOIA access as sufficient ethical authorization for the request regardless of timing, on the grounds that public procurement submissions are public records and no regulation prohibits this sequence.

Engineer B refrains from filing any FOIA request for a competitor's qualifications during the active procurement window — before the selection process concludes — recognizing that any pre-selection access to a competitor's submission creates an informational asymmetry incompatible with fair competition, regardless of whether the request is filed before or after his own submission.

Engineer B